If Jason King was looking to ease his way back into the NRL, he found a solid obstacle in the shape of the Burgess brothers.

An inspirational King took Sam, Luke and George head-on in a spirited second-half performance that helped lead Manly to a 14-12 victory against South Sydney on Friday night. The match was King’s first since April 26, after making his comeback from a shoulder reconstruction.

Stirring performance: Jason King. Photo: Wolter Peeters

King was signalled out by Sam Burgess on one occasion and responded with a heavy shot only for Luke Burgess to fire a heavy tackle back at King. Luke Burgess said he welcomed the confrontation.

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"It was just a normal argy-bargy that you have in the game," he said. "It’s all part of the game and it’s what makes the game fun.

"I wouldn’t say we singled [King] out, we were just going about the game. He got stuck in as well.

"It’s good . . . When there is always a little bit of niggle, it always seems to spice it up. Both teams lifted."

After shocking the Roosters to win their opening match of the season, South Sydney struggled to back up that performance against a spirited Manly side. Their handling – particularly in the first half – let them down, completing 62 per cent of first-half possession.

Burgess said errors cruelled the team.

"Totally different feeling to last week," Burgess said. "We were way off. Definitely have plenty to put right.

"You can’t afford to do that, especially against teams like Manly. [I am] pretty disappointed with how we performed.

"We lacked a bit of polish on our finishing sets and a bit of ball too. We need to touch that side of things up.

"If you hand the ball over more, you’re going to make it harder on yourself. There were quite a few errors but I don’t know if that was to do with the speed of the game."

"Not our preparation, probably more what was going on upstairs," Tuqiri said. "Coming back off a big game the week before but that’s still no excuse to not start a game that well.

"[Coach Michael Maguire said] we’ve got to dump it and learn from our mistakes and see what’s going on. . . and actually turn up for the game against the Tigers next week and not be sort of surprised [by] what’s going on.

"You can’t afford to have hangovers. The boys have been here for a few years now and we’ve got a lot of senior players who can knock that feeling out.

"We’ve got no excuses. Manly took their points but we didn’t."

Five-eighth Dylan Walker is not expected to face time on the sideline despite attending the club’s recovery session on Saturday morning in a moon boot and crutches.

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